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Both Alexander Rossi and Graham Rahal took exception to Guenther Steiner's assertion that no American is ready for F1. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

American drivers hit back at Haas executive who claims no Americans are ready for F1

Guenther Steiner is the team principal of the North Carolina-based team

January 15, 2018

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Haas F1 decision-maker Guenther Steiner made headlines last week when he said there were no American drivers currently able to succeed in Formula 1.

Based out of North Carolina, the team routinely fields questions about adding an American driver to represent the only United States organization currently participating at the highest level. And for two consecutive seasons, Steiner has deferred the timeline to promote an American racer beyond the current decade.

His latest comments, however, did not sit well with the American motorsports community.

"Just having an American driver who maybe cannot compete at a certain level is maybe not good for the sport," Steiner told Autosport International. "(Signing an American driver) would be an ambition, but at the moment, there is nobody ready for F1 in the United States in my opinion."

Many of the most notable names in the industry immediately fired back over the weekend.

F1 teams will never truly embrace an American driver unless they establish them & train them in Europe themselves from age 9 or 10. Plenty of great talent in America that given the right opportunity & quality equipment could be successful but don’t see it happening anytime soon. https://t.co/6pLZbMxn1g

That is absurd. How do you actually know that? The arrogance of that statement is profound. I’d put Newgarden against either of those guys any day of week. But you think you KNOW without any physical evidence up against each other in an F1 car